Qdrant vs Weaviate
A comparison of Qdrant and Weaviate built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
- Pick Qdrant if
- Teams that want a choice of similarity metric rather than one fixed default, or that want the option to self-host the same open-source engine the managed cloud runs.
- Pick Weaviate if
- Teams that want hybrid search included on every tier without an add-on, or that want an always-free cluster (not a time-limited trial) to build against before committing to a paid plan.
2 sourced criteria separate them:
- Pricing model
- Qdrant: Usage-based on the Standard tier: billed for compute (vCPU), memory (GB) and storage (GB) consumed by clusters, backup storage, and inference tokens for paid models.
- Weaviate: Consumption-based, charged on total vector dimensions stored plus storage, backups and optional AI services. Flex pricing starts around $0.00465 per 1M dimensions.
- Regions
- Qdrant: Standard and Premium tiers run on AWS, Azure and GCP.
- Weaviate: Free and Flex tiers run on AWS and GCP with limited regions (2 and 7 respectively). Premium dedicated runs on GCP, AWS and Azure across roughly 40 regions.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Qdrant 0
Weaviate 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Qdrant | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Usage-based on the Standard tier: billed for compute (vCPU), memory (GB) and storage (GB) consumed by clusters, backup storage, and inference tokens for paid models. | Consumption-based, charged on total vector dimensions stored plus storage, backups and optional AI services. Flex pricing starts around $0.00465 per 1M dimensions. |
| Infrastructure | ||
| Regions | Standard and Premium tiers run on AWS, Azure and GCP. | Free and Flex tiers run on AWS and GCP with limited regions (2 and 7 respectively). Premium dedicated runs on GCP, AWS and Azure across roughly 40 regions. |
Where they differ.
Pricing model
- Qdrant
- Usage-based on the Standard tier: billed for compute (vCPU), memory (GB) and storage (GB) consumed by clusters, backup storage, and inference tokens for paid models.
- Weaviate
- Consumption-based, charged on total vector dimensions stored plus storage, backups and optional AI services. Flex pricing starts around $0.00465 per 1M dimensions.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Qdrant Cloud Pricing ↗
“Billing is calculated based on actual resource usage during the billing period. You're charged for compute (vCPU), memory (GB), storage (GB) consumed by your clusters, storage (GB) consumed by backups, and used inference tokens of paid models.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Weaviate Cloud Pricing ↗
“Vector dimensions pricing varies by index type, compression method, and region. [...] from $0.00465 / 1M [dimensions].”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Regions
- Qdrant
- Standard and Premium tiers run on AWS, Azure and GCP.
- Weaviate
- Free and Flex tiers run on AWS and GCP with limited regions (2 and 7 respectively). Premium dedicated runs on GCP, AWS and Azure across roughly 40 regions.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Qdrant Cloud Pricing ↗
“AWS, Azure, GCP.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Weaviate Cloud Pricing ↗
“Free: AWS, Limited (2). Flex: GCP, AWS, Limited (7). Premium dedicated: GCP, AWS, Azure, All (~40).”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Which should you choose?
Choose Qdrant if…
Teams that want a choice of similarity metric rather than one fixed default, or that want the option to self-host the same open-source engine the managed cloud runs.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Weaviate if…
Teams that want hybrid search included on every tier without an add-on, or that want an always-free cluster (not a time-limited trial) to build against before committing to a paid plan.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Qdrant: A published, calculator-free entry price matters — Qdrant Cloud's Standard tier pricing is usage-based with no static per-month figure quoted, unlike some competitors' flat entry plans.
- Weaviate: Predictable flat pricing matters more than granular control — per-dimension consumption billing means cost scales with embedding choices in a way a flat per-month plan doesn't.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Should I choose Qdrant or Weaviate?
Pick Qdrant if Teams that want a choice of similarity metric rather than one fixed default, or that want the option to self-host the same open-source engine the managed cloud runs.
Pick Weaviate if Teams that want hybrid search included on every tier without an add-on, or that want an always-free cluster (not a time-limited trial) to build against before committing to a paid plan.